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Louisiana to study use of self-driving cars in state

Google's Driverless Cars

A Google self-driving car goes on a test drive Wednesday, May 14, 2014, in Mountain View, Calif. Four years ago, the Google team developing cars which can drive themselves became convinced that, sooner than later, the technology would be ready for the masses. The Louisiana Legislature has adopted a resolution ordering a study of the use of the technology on its roads. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
(Eric Risberg)

Where Louisiana's going, we don't need drivers. At least that's the idea behind a resolution adopted Monday (June 2) by the Louisiana Legislature ordering a study of self-driving cars.

Sponsored by New Orleans lawmaker Rep. Walt Leger, a Democrat, House Resolution 133 asks the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to examine the need to adopt laws regulating "autonomous motor vehicles" on the Bayou State's roads.

Leger originally filed two bills that would authorize the use of and set up laws regulating the emerging driving technology in the state, but he put the brakes on those pieces of legislation and opted instead to study the issue after talking to people in the industry. Companies have started testing self-driving vehicles in other states, Leger said, and he didn't want new laws passed in Louisiana with the intent to encourage self-driving vehicles to inadvertently create barriers for the manufacturers during the testing stage.

"I'd like to see (the vehicles) tested here, I didn't want to create any hindrance of that," he said Tuesday.

Leger got the idea after participating in a mock committee hearing at Tulane Law School for a legislative drafting course the school officers. One of the students, Colin Burgess, pitched the legislation to authorize use of the vehicles and set up rules regulating them. In filing the legislation during the actual 2014 legislative session, Leger said he knew it was probably too early to move the bills through the process, "but it's interesting enough that it was worth presenting," adding, "It's important that we have the conversation."

The resolution notes that as of 2013, four states have already passed laws authorizing use of autonomous vehicles. Too, companies involved in research and development of prototypes of the technology include General Motors, Nissan, Toyota Audi, Volvo, Google and Mercedes Benz, as well as Oxford University.

Driver error, the resolution says, causes more than 90 percent of traffic accidents, and self-driving cars may reduce traffic wrecks and fatalities. The technology also has potential to reduce traffic congestion and improve fuel economy through "better utilization of existing highway capacity and more efficient operation of the vehicle's acceleration and braking controls."

Leger said he hopes the study will encourage DOTD to learn from the best practices regarding self-driving vehicles around the country in order to move Louisiana forward.